Hinge for folding beds



H. U. GRAIN.

HINGE FOR FOLDING sans.

APPLICATION FILED JULY I0, 1919. l @Aggpfg PatentedSept l2, 192K 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Sept. 12, 1922.

UNITED STATES HARRISON U. GRAIN, 0F ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

HINGE FOR FOLDING BECDS.

Application filed July 10, 1919. Serial No. 309,947.

To all w hom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRISON U. GRAIN, a vcitizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hinges for Folding Beds, of which the iollowing is a specification.

This invention relates more particularly to closetable folding beds, or in other words, those of the kind that are capable of being folded up and are hingedly mounted to swing in that condition into and out of a closet through the door opening, whereby it may be placed out of sight when not in use and readily placed in condition `for use as desired. p

In all of such structures of this character, of which I am aware, it is necessary to reduce the width of the bed to permit it to swing in and out through the ordinary standard size doorway, or else to provide an oversize door opening it the bed is made the full standard width of a double bed. So, too, for some structures, it is further necessary to provide an oversize door opening as to height.

The present invention, therefore, has for its principal object to produce a novel structure which will permit the use of a minimum standard size door opening. It has for its further objects to produce a simple hinge structure for the bed iframe proper which is easily operated and eicient, and to attain certain other advantages as will hereinafter more fully appear.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating a practical application of the invention,- c

Figure 1 is a horizontal section through the closet, and a top plan view of the bed frame in folded up condition in full lines and in position outside of and ready to be in dotted lines;A

swun into the closet, as indicated by the dotted lines, or to permit the lowering of the mattress frame, as indicated also by dotted lines;

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the closetat the door opening, and showing the mattress frame in raised position outside the closet in full lines, and in lowered position Figure 3 is a view ofthel swinging supporting frame or carriage of the bed frame detached from the hinge frame and with the mattress frame in lowered position and shown in cross section on or about the line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section through one of the counterbalancing hinge joints for the mattress frame, the mattress 'frame being in lowered position and the line of section being taken on or about the line 4-4 of Figure 2; and y Figure 5 is a cross section on the line 5-5 of Fi ure 4.

Re erring now to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a rectangular supporting frame or carriage for the foldable mattress frame 2. As shown, the supporting frame 1 may be provided with suitable grill work Sor other suitable members or scrolls to be thereby ornamented and made to simulate the head frame of an ordinary bed struct-ure, while the mattress trame 2. may have head and foot pieces 4, 5, respectively, to further add to the appearance of the structure as well as to all'ord abutments to prevent the mattress from slipping endwise on the iframe.

Extending horizontally forward from the vertical side members of the supporting frame or carriage 1 are brackets G having downturned end portions 7 to which the side rails of the mattress frame are hinged. As shown more clearly in Figures 4 and 5, the hinges comprise barrels 8 having bracket extensions 9 which are riveted. as at 10, to the side rail members, which latter are of the usual angle iron section. In the ends of the barrels 8 are bushings 11 having central apertures in which a pivot bolt or stud is rotatably fitted. The bolt or stud 12 has a polygonal shouldered portion 13 tting a counterpart aperture in the bracket arm 6 so as to prevent it from turning when engaged therewith, and the bolt or stud is secured in place by a nut 14 on the reduced and screw-threaded outer end portion thereof.

Coiled about the bolt or stud 12 is a spring 15, one endk portion 16 of which is carried through a diametrical aperture in they bolt or stud, while its opposite end portion 17 is projected through a slot 18 in relieve the weight of the outer end pertion as the frame is being lowered. n y

At the outer end of the mattress frame `2 is a hinged foot frame 19 which opens out to support said outer end portion from the floor in its lowered positionwhile the supporting frame or carriage 1 is .afforded a substantial support by the hinge frame vnow t0 be described. The frame or carriage 1 is swivelled at the middle of its top and bottom horizontal members on trunfnions 2O lat the outer ends of horizontally swinging arms' 21 whose inner end .portions 22 are sleeved upon andv secured tightly to a vertical shaft or rod 23 constituting the hinge trame. This shaft or rod has its upper and lower`cnd portions journalled respectively in brackets 221, 25, secured to the door jamb.

The arms 21 being mounted, as 'they are, to swing together in parallel relation about a common vertical axis, and .having the trunnions20 at their outer ends, a linked or multiple joint folding :hinge is produced wherebyv the supportingframe 1, .withthe mattress frame 2 iny raised position thereon, is capable of being swung into the :closet through a relatively narrower rdoor opening v than if the hinge arms were rigidly attached to lsaid supporting frame 1.

Assuming the bed to be in position out side ythe closet as shown by `the full lines .in

Figure'l, substantially four distinct movev ments or manipulations, as indicated by the i dotted lines, will effect the .final positioning of the bed in the closet. .The first movement is to swing the supporting frame 1 on the trunnions 20, clearing the door amb asindicated 'by the arc a t; the second movement is to swing 'the hinge frame about the axis of: the shaft 23 with the supporting .frame 1 in the relative position thereonvto` which it has just beenturned, the arc through which v-, the edge portion lof the :mattress frame lmoves ,f arc c" to d", and .during part of which-.time

beingindicatedfromb to c; .the third 'move-zr mentmlis through the kreentrant curve c to d as to theedge portion of `the mattress Yframe, while A,thehinge frame is swung through the the outer edge porti-onoric the mattress frame ismanipulated to clear the door; The hed frame' is. then lswung Aon .the tr-unnions 20 entirely into the closet, after which Ithe ,l door 2 6 maybe closed.

`'l`o.]g)l.acethe bedoutside closet the movementsl .in manipulation ,are reversed.

lWheigrthje .bedis opened, cryin other wvords,. the mattress frame islowered, the sam'e is' substantially supported at the head end by the carrier frame 1 and the hinge frame on the door jamb, and at its outer end by the foot frame 19.

To afford a stop at the limit of the raised position ofthe mattress frame, the vside rails may have lateral studs 27 thereon to engage the upper edge portions of the bracket eX- tensions `6 lofthe carrier frame 1 with which they are held in contact by the tension of the springs 4 15 of the hinge joints between said bracket extensions and said side rails.

From thev foregoing it is apparent that the structure is compact, simple in operation, and is capable of being moved through a relatively narrow door opening .as compared toa structure `utilizing a rigidly attached l hinge frame. The peculiar, mounting of .the

mattress frame on the carrier framecalsov kfacilitates the minimizing of theheight lof the doorway. It further l,permits the iuse of the ordinary coil spring bed bottom and; accommodates a mattress and bedding 'of considerable thickness or depth. v Y ,A

Obviously, the entire ystructure admitsof considerable modification without in Vthe least departing from the spirit of the .in-

vention as defined by the appended claims,

and it is, therefore, not limited to Ythatrs'hovvn in the drawings.

What is claimed is: t 1. In an adjustable spring hinge structure,

a supportingelement, a ,pivotal element,

stud secured to said supporting element and capable of rotative adjustment thereon, a sleeve secured to said pivotal element. and mounted rotatably on saidstud, and aspring coiled about said stud, vwithin .said sleeve, .Y

and having one end secured to the ,sleeve and its other end; secured to the stud. y l

2. .In an adjustable springhinge structure,

a supporting element, a pivotal element, a,v

stud having-a polygonal, reduced, shouldered portion fitted in a counterpart socketin said supporting element, .releasable means for holding said stud `in lsaid socket, asleeve onal aperture therein, Ia studhaving 'a free.

duced shouldered portion near one end, .of a polygonal shape corresponding to the aperture in said supporting element, the end .por`

tion of saidstud ybeyond said polygonal -portion thereofbeing screw-.threadedwand provided with .a .retaining nut to gen'gage .said f :supporting element to secure l,said'stud in place, sleeve rigidly-secured :to .lsaidpivotal Supporting element, anged bearing collars fitted in the opposite end portions of said sleeve and rotatabie on said stud, a spring coiled about said stud, one end portion of said spring being inserted through a transverse aperture in said Stud and its other end portion being located in an open-ended slot in the adjacent end portion of said sleeve and retained by the bearing Collar, and means on the end of said stud for engaging 10 the outer face of said bearing collar to retain the assembled parts in piace.

HARRISON U. Genna. 

